6th International Symposium on Osteoporosis: Current Status and Future Directions Washington, D.C. April 6-10, 2005. As the nation's leading voluntary health organization solely dedicated to osteoporosis and bone health across the lifespan, the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF)'s mission includes a strong emphasis on clinical education for healthcare providers. Every two to three years, NOF hosts an international symposium that attracts an audience of approximately 1500 leading physicians, researchers, medical specialists and other health care professionals seeking state of-the-art information on the nation's most common metabolic bone disease. The overall goal for the Symposium is to gather international scientific and public health leaders in osteoporosis prevention and treatment to share the latest findings and collaborate and build consensus on future research and public health directions for this major and growing public health issue. The 2005 program for the 6th International Symposium on Osteoporosis: Current Status and Future Directions includes over 55 speakers presenting on scientific advances in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, prevention strategies, current research findings, and future directions in research and public health. A special opportunity exists with the release of The Surgeon General's Report on Osteoporosis and Bone Health. The groundswell of interest generated and the consensus in baseline scientific knowledge established by the report present the opportunity for the Symposium to disseminate findings, and to provide a high-level international forum for discussion and follow-up.